Diego Costa Not as Bad as Luis Suarez, Says Brazil Legend Pele

Brazil football legend Pele has defended Chelsea striker Diego Costa, insisting the Blues star has not conducted himself as poorly as Barcelona’s Luis Suarez.

Pele, considered by many to be the finest footballer of all time, was speaking to Agence France-Presse (h/t the National), about Costa, who picked up a three-game ban on Tuesday after some altercations with Arsenal players in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over the Gunners at the weekend. The 74-year-old didn’t think Costa acted too out of line.

“Listen, this to me was so common,” said the Selecao hero. “I suffered all my life with good marking. He’s a very good player, everybody knows. This was one moment. The striker who bit someone, Luis Suarez, was worse than this.”

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During the game against Arsenal, Costa pushed and then swiped an arm into Laurent Koscielny’s face, before scratching the back of Gabriel Paulista’s neck. The forward’s actions weren’t picked up by referee Mike Dean on the day, but he was handed a retrospective ban that’ll see him miss three games for the champions, per BBC Sport.

Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe took a look at whether or not the sanctions against Costa were deserved:

Suarez, like Costa, is someone who has his emotions very close to the surface. The Uruguay international has been banned three times in his career for biting an opponent, was suspended for racially abusing Patrice Evra during his spell as a Liverpool player and has regularly been accused of play-acting. 

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But there’s a common theme here. Despite being despised by the majority of football fans, the two men are adored by the supporters of the club they play for. Indeed, former Chelsea player Jason Cundy drew some parallels between Costa and Suarez:

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Suarez, almost a year on from finishing his previous ban for biting, seems to have settled down since moving to Barcelona, helping the team to win three trophies during the 2014-15 season; the ex-Liverpool man scored the second goal of the team's three in the Champions League final.

Indeed, Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez now rates Suarez as the best centre-forward in the game:

Costa, who often seems more intent on fighting with the opposition than scoring goals against them, still remains more untamed in his approach to the game than many others.